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Marriott, Mitt Romney, and porn

Feb 5th 2011, 18:37by N.B. | WASHINGTON, DC

THE HOTEL chain Marriott recently announced that it would cease selling "adult content"—ie, pornography—in its newer hotels. Anyone who knows a bit about the hotel business might find this move a bit confusing. After all, porn is still a moneymaker for chains like Marriott, which by some estimates was earning $175 per room, per year in smut peddling alone.

But there does seem to be a method to Marriott's madness. Politico's Ben Smith explains that Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a presumptive candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, recently left the Marriott board. The chain's owners are "longtime Romney supporters", Mr Smith notes. And social conservatives, apparently, hit Mr Romney hard on the porn "issue" during the ex-governor's 2008 campaign for the GOP nomination. (One critic called Mr Romney a "major pornographer.") So in some sense, Mr Smith argues, Marriott appears to be doing Mr Romney a "costly favor." Then again:

Another person familiar with the workings of the industry, though, cast doubt on the connection: The in-room movie business has been hit hard by wifi, Netflix, iPads, and laptops, and the structure of contracts with providers could well have made it a solid economic decision.

Labour unions, at least, seem convinced that Marriott is throwing Mr Romney a bone. Eddie Vale, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO, emailed reporters last week to mock the Marriott-Romney-smut connection (via Mr Smith):

Now when it comes to folks who actually work for a living—and negotiating on their wages, benefits, etc—we always hear the mantra 'we must maximize revenue and value for the shareholders'. Interesting how this pillar of corporate philosophy seems to have gone right out the window when it comes to helping their billionaire buddy's presidential campaign.

Are Mr Vale and Mr Smith on to something? Or is Marriott just making a normal business decision? Let us know in the comments.